Thread: Are there emissions requirements for small engines?

Hi
I dont belive that the rules apply to us as yet.
Its a machine built to meet much stricter euro standards,you benefit I guess from their standards.
You will see it more as euro spec gear comes onto the market.
Husquvarna make some really good stuff!!!
Andrew

Despite the report quoted below identifying small power output engines as worse polluters than cars on a per hour basis, it does not appear that anything has been done about it. A similar story is also there about marine engines which, to the best of my knowledge, are also unregulated.

From the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Feb 07):

The United States, California, Canada and Europe regulate emissions from outdoor equipment - the USA has had these in place since 1997. There are no Australian regulations or standards that limit air pollutant emissions from engines used in outdoor garden equipment however as the majority of equipment sold in Australia is imported some do comply with emission standards applicable to the country of origin.

It's the yanks that are causing the problem.In some states 2 strokes are banned and being the biggest consumer market they rule the roost. Pat

After a $60 jobby the Husky would be a godsend. I'm upgrading all my machinery as it becomes available to 4-stroke, far less emissions I believe but they are heavier. Honda is doing good work with blowers, and they are indeed quieter engines.

As far as I know, small engines do not have any legal emissions requirements. While the pollution (define that?) is certainly worse on a per unit power per hour basis than car engines, sometimes a lot worse, they are much smaller and with one exception (see below) they are usually used for only very restricted periods of time, so the actual amount of pollution is relatively small compared to cars.

Where they are a significant problem is where large numbers of petrol (often 2-stroke) generators are used for long periods in large numbers in urban environments, usually where power is unreliable. They are supposed to be a major source of air pollution in many Asian cities.

My experience of small motors is that the key design criteria are weight and cost, with everthing else secondary - from a user perspective my criteria would be more in the direction of cost, reliability and maintainability. Notice that emissions didn't get a mention - nor did fuel consumption!

John

As to manufacturing cost entioned in one of the earlier threads, how about this. I have a Chinese generator for which I paid $98 four years ago. I bought it in Winton. The Australian distributor is in Melbourne. So the gadget was made in China, shipped to Melbourne, then to Winton, and sold. I presume everyone in the supply chain has made a profit. What was the actual manufacturing cost? A$15 or $20? I put a vibratory hour meter on it when new and took it off in January this year after just shy of 600 trouble free hours. I use it for camping and have run lights and TV off it at home after losing power in a summer storm.If I ever have to buy another, I will buy the next bigger one which is four stroke, purely because the little two stroke does not have enough omph to start our domestic refrig-freezer.

Hi JDNSW, is your user perspective as a commercial operator or domestic? I find that using 2 stroke machines such as hedgers, blowers/vacs I cop the exhausts fumes quite a lot, particularly the hedger as it's at arms length in front of me. Other machines are better as the engine is usually behind the body. Give the emissions or at least safety some consideration.

Originally Posted by Ricey

Honda is doing good work with blowers, and they are indeed quieter engines.

My Honda 4 stroke brushcutter was expensive and not all that good.
It is very well made, just not as good to use as the 2 stroke stuff I have always used.
Harder to start.
Heavier.
Gutless.
Suffers fuel starvation due to poor design (Honda replaces the fuel cap free if you complain, helps but doesn't fix it).
Runs very hot and so is uncomfortably to use for longer periods.
Hard to get the handles etc adjusted to get ergonomics right, not comfortable.

It is quiet though, but given the need to buy another I would buy another 2 stroke.